HonestReporting Canada

Around Christmas time every year, news outlets put a spotlight on the status of Christian populations in Israel and beyond, often describing it as suffering. But while this describes the plight of Christians living under Hamas or the Palestinian Authority (PA) rule, the exact opposite is true for Israeli Christians, who enjoy full religious freedoms, and whose numbers, according to recent statistics, are growing and flourishing. It’s time for the media to show what life for Israeli Christians is really like.

Hamas may be the better-known Islamist terrorist group operating out of the Gaza Strip, but its peer, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is no less violent and fanatical. Created more than 40 years ago, PIJ, better known as Islamic Jihad, fired over a thousand rockets into Israel in early August, only the latest in many decades of carrying out violent terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Funded and armed by Iran, Islamic Jihad is a ruthless terrorist organization that like its patron, seeks Israel’s destruction.

In early April, a spate of Palestinian terror attacks engulfed Jerusalem, throughout Israel and in Judea & Samaria. From violent rioting inside Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque, shooting and car-ramming attacks, and rocket fire from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria; Israel was under attack from multiple locations. And while the violence may appear to be spontaneously-generated, behind the scenes, Iran was actively involved in arming, funding and training its terrorist proxies in the region, all dedicated to destroying Israel. It’s time the news media show the true face of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leadership and its terror tentacles across the Middle East.

Since the recent death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman arrested and murdered by the country’s morality police for allegedly not correctly wearing a hijab, anti-regime protests have spread throughout Iran, as well as in Iranian diaspora communities in Canada and around the world. And while the news media is laudably covering this story now, it’s important that as long as the protests continue, so should the focus.

When a Palestinian is killed in armed conflict with Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its affiliates offer a knee-jerk response: that the deceased is an innocent person murdered by Israel in cold blood. But when speaking in Arabic to local audiences and media outlets, the truth often comes out: that the deceased was a terrorist with links to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party. That’s exactly what happened in a recent appearance by a senior Palestinian official, who bragged that “90 per cent” of recent Palestinian deaths by Israel were members of Fatah. But will Canadian news outlets share this shocking news with its audiences?

Yair Lapid, Israel's Foreign Minister, recently visited Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, in the municipality's Old City, for a security tour with local police officials. Although all of Jerusalem remains in sovereign Israeli control, as soon as Lapid's visit became public, the Palestinian leadership immediately condemned the move. This knee-jerk condemnation, by both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA), is ongoing evidence of the Palestinian leadership's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist in its sovereign capital city, where Jews first established their capital three thousand years ago.

Adbusters, a Vancouver-based magazine, recently produced a graphic comparing Marwan Barghouti, a convicted Palestinian terrorist, with late South African anti-Apartheid advocate Nelson Mandela, and called Barghouti a “political prisoner.” This is not only disconnected from reality but a whitewashing of Palestinian terrorism.

Israel has kicked off 2023 with a major initiative, announcing that the government was investing tens of millions of Israeli shekels in an effort to combat climate change in the Jewish State. The investments are aimed at planting more trees across the country and helping local municipalities strengthen their infrastructure in the face of potential damage caused by climate change.

In addition to funding terrorism, inciting hatred against Israel and Jews alike, and suppressing political dissent, Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) commits an even more medieval form of abuse on its own people: the brutal torture of prisoners. According to the testimonies of past inmates, Palestinian security forces viciously abuse prisoners, sometimes even leading to their death. It’s time for the news media to uncover this important story.

On June 23, the Turkish government announced that it had arrested a group of Iranians suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Istanbul targeting Israelis for assassination. While the plot was foiled, it shined a spotlight on the nefarious influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of Iran’s military, which Canada has still not recognized as a terrorist entity and which has evaded the scrutiny by our media.

On September 12, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto held a major campaign launch, attracting thousands of donors, dignitaries and community members. Also in attendance was Firas al Najim, the anti-Israel provocateur who has built a reputation for disturbing pro-Israel events and protesting outside Jewish-owned grocery stories. At the event, Najim yelled at an elderly Holocaust survivor and berated attendees for their support for Israel. Despite Najim’s repeated verbal assaults, will the news media ever shine a light on this merchant of hate and demand authorities take action against him?

After nearly a month of anti-regime protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman arrested for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, the demonstrations show no sign of stopping. And that’s meant increasing pressure on governments like Canada’s to take action. On October 7, the Trudeau government announced it was sanctioning Press TV, the official broadcast mouthpiece of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And while it represents an important step, it should not be the end of Canadian sanctions on Iran’s regime.

In September 1993, Israel and the Palestinians signed what became known as the Oslo Accords, representing an interim agreement meant to help pave the way for longer-term peace negotiations. But over the last three decades, the Palestinian leadership has repeatedly violated the core tenets of the accords, undermining any realistic prospect of peace with Israel.

Since the World Cup games kicked off in Qatar in mid-November, repeated ugly scenes have erupted of Israeli journalists being harassed, yelled at, or otherwise treated rudely once they identified themselves as being from Israel. These scenes of rejection demonstrate that, regardless of the increasing number of peace agreements Israel is signing with its neighbours, true peace will only come when widespread populations in the Middle East accept Israel’s right to exist.

In early August, Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx shared a cryptic post on Instagram, saying “They killed this dude name Jesus,” and soon shared another user’s post which read, in part: “Judas showed His Self!!!” While Foxx soon apologized and deleted the posts, saying he meant no harm and that he was referring to one person in particular, he was tapping into centuries of antisemitic hate, particularly relating to claims of deicide (accusations that Jews killed Jesus, and bear a collective responsibility). Notwithstanding Foxx’s apology, his post was a reminder of the potent nature of how quickly antisemitic propaganda can spread online, and how even ancient messages can find receptive audiences in the modern era.

Israel’s diplomatic relations have expanded significantly in recent years, with new or expanded ties with Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and more. But other, more recent incidents have shown that anti-Israel hostility remains normalized in much of the Middle East. In August, an Iranian athlete was photographed shaking the hands of an Israeli competitor, and he was swiftly punished. Days earlier, it was revealed that Libya’s foreign minister met her Israeli counterpart in Rome, and she was immediately fired, and had to flee to Turkey. Peace between Israel and all its neighbours cannot take place until acceptance and tolerance, not rejectionism and hostility, are normalized.

More than two million Arabs live in Israel alongside its Jewish majority, but despite enjoying equal rights with their Jewish peers, Israeli Arabs earn lower wages and are beset by communal violence in many Arab towns. To help address these shortcomings, the Israeli government recently announced a major investment totaling close to $1.1 billion dollars (CAD) to help improve the quality of life for Israeli Arabs in eastern Jerusalem. Though Israel is often accused by the media of discriminating against its minority Arab population, the government’s announcement shows that the Jewish State is working hard to improve the standard of living for its Arab residents and citizens.

A recent archaeological find deep in the Judean Desert, announced in early September, was a boon for the archaeological profession: four well-preserved Roman swords dating from the second century CE. The swords, thought to have been hidden by Jewish rebels, potentially during the Bar Kochba Revolt, serve as a living history to the Jewish population in the region nearly two thousand years ago. Despite ongoing attempts to erase Jewish history, archaeological finds such as this one demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt the Jewish People’s ancient connection to the land of Israel.

On July 25, Miloon Kothari, a member of a United Nations (UN) commission tasked with investigating Israel’s alleged crimes, made comments widely seen as anti-Israel and antisemitic, in a podcast interview with Mondoweiss, an anti-Israel website. Though his comments were widely condemned by many UN officials, and member states including Canada, he was defended by none other than his colleague and renowned anti-Israel activist, Navi Pillay. The fact this his defenders pose as unbiased researchers is an important story that has eluded the media.

Over two days in mid-February, two Jewish men were shot in drive-by shootings in Los Angeles, California. The suspect, 28-year-old Jaime Tran, is alleged to have previously sent threatening antisemitic texts to a Jewish former classmate. The two victims were treated at hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but the attack could have been far worse: reports say multiple weapons were allegedly found in Tran’s possession. While this attack did not claim any lives, experts say that tackling antisemitic hate will help to stem the tide of antisemitic attacks.

An agreement is being negotiated between Israel and Lebanon to potentially partner in gas exploration off their respective coastlines, and even engage in sharing the ensuing profits. This agreement, regardless of whether it is ever finalized represents more than simply another Arab state widening its ties with Israel, but even more significant, given that Lebanon and Israel are still technically at war.

In mid-September, Israeli customs authorities announced that, two months prior, they had seized 16 tonnes of ammonium chloride, originating from Turkey and on their way to the Gaza Strip. The chemical is a critical component in manufacturing rockets, and Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group which rules over Gaza, has fired thousands of rockets into Israel in recent years. It’s time the news media tell the world about this latest attempt to smuggle a deadly rocket ingredient into Gaza, and why Israel’s blockade of the Strip is as needed as ever.

In December, South Africa’s government formally accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. But despite the widespread media coverage following the move, there is little to no basis for Pretoria’s allegations, which the news media must acknowledge.

Hamas’ theft of international humanitarian aid meant for Palestinian civilians is an open secret in Gaza. The group’s tunnels, built by concrete meant for Gaza’s infrastructure, is the most notable example of how the terrorist organization has put its own violent goals ahead of its people’s needs. And now, incredible footage purportedly showing Hamas terrorists commandeering aid as it enters Gaza, demonstrates once again the group’s theft of aid, but will the news media care?

Since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, news media outlets around the world have uncritically repeated Hamas claims, including that Gaza has no fuel, that Israel has killed thousands of civilians, that the group wants “civilians to go home,” and more. But why does the news media so uncritically accept the claims of a genocidal terrorist group, rather than holding it accountable?